Historical Figure
Yevgeny Prigozhin
d. 2023
Russian oligarch and mercenary leader (1961–2023)
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Biography
Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin was a Russian mercenary leader, rebel commander, and oligarch. He led the Wagner Group, a private military company, and was a close confidant of Russian president Vladimir Putin until he launched a one-day rebellion in June 2023. Prigozhin was sometimes referred to as "Putin's chef" because he owned restaurants and catering businesses that provided services to the Kremlin. Once a convict in the Soviet Union, Prigozhin controlled a network of influential companies whose operations, according to a 2020 investigation, were "tightly integrated with Russia's Defence Ministry and its intelligence arm, the GRU".
Timeline
The story of Yevgeny Prigozhin, told in moments.
Founded the Wagner Group, a private military company. Wagner fighters deployed to eastern Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Mali, Central African Republic, and Mozambique. Funded by the Russian state. The Kremlin denied any connection for years.
Indicted by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller for funding the Internet Research Agency, a troll farm that interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election through fake social media accounts. He eventually admitted it publicly in 2023. "We have interfered, we are interfering, and we will continue to interfere," he said.
Led an armed mutiny against the Russian military. Wagner columns advanced toward Moscow. Putin called it treason. After 36 hours, Prigozhin stood down following a deal brokered by Belarusian President Lukashenko. Terms were never made public.
Died when his private jet crashed between Moscow and St. Petersburg. All 10 people on board were killed. The crash occurred exactly two months after his mutiny. Russian authorities blamed the pilot. Western intelligence agencies said otherwise.
In Their Own Words (20)
Shoigu just fled Rostov like a coward. At 21:00 he ran like a coward, like a girl. In order to not explain that, he ordered helicopters to destroy our guys, that’s why the rocket strike happened. This creature will be stopped.
23 June 2023 at 21:41, quoted in "Wagner’s ‘march of justice’ All of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s posts about his apparent military coup", Meduza, 2023
It’s a complete mess everywhere, there’s no discipline. The army has everything, but there is absolutely no control, while there is an absolute paranoid gap between that which is happening in the trenches, and that which they know and think about in headquarters
"‘Stop Deceiving the Population’: Russia’s Mercenary Boss Threatens Full-Blown Mutiny", The Daily Beast (29 April 2023), 2023
Now the moment has come when blood can be shed.Therefore, realising all the responsibility for the fact that Russian blood will be shed from one side, we will turn our convoys around and go in the opposite direction to our field camps.
Prigozhin announcing his mercenaries were to return to their bases in Southern Russia rather than march to Moscow, as cited in "Prigozhin calls off march on Moscow to avert 'Russian bloodshed'" The Guardian (24 June 2023). For a Wikipedia article on this incident, see Wagner Group rebellion., 2023
My advice to the Russian elites — get your lads, send them to war, and when you go to the funeral, when you start burying them, people will say that now everything is fair.
Said about the status in 2023 of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, quoted in "Prigozhin says war in Ukraine has backfired, warns of Russian revolution", The Washington Post (24 May, 2023), 2023
This divide can end as in 1917 with a revolution - first the soldiers will stand up, and after that - their loved ones will rise up. There are already tens of thousands of them - relatives of those killed - and there will probably be hundreds of thousands.
"Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russia risks revolution unless elite get serious about war, Wagner chief says Updated 13 minutes ago", The Telegraph (24 May 2023), 2023
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